January 29, 2014

JUAN OF THE DEAD Film Screening

Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.
Hawkins-Conard Student Center Auditorium

The Ashland University College of Arts and Sciences' Symposium Against Indifference: Engaging Latin America and the Caribbean hosts a free film screening of the award-winning zombie comedy "Juan of the Dead." Co-sponsored by the Department of Foreign Languages, the film will be shown on Wednesday, February 5 at 7 p.m. in the Hawkins-Conard Student Center Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

“Juan of the Dead” utilizes satire and fantasy to reflect on political and social problems including the current relationship between Cuba and the U.S. and the memory of the Cuban revolution. This movie shows how Latin American film is articulated within current world film trends: it is a zombie movie, but very rooted in Cuban values and customs.

Directed by Buenos Aires-born Alejandro Brugués, his idea for the film came from watching the reality around him in Cuba. He asked himself if Cubans were different from film zombies and concluded, "Cuba is a country that has been preparing itself for a confrontation with the United States during the last 50 years. So, what if instead of that, have to confront zombies?" This gave him the opportunity to create a lead character who would say “I’m not going to allow this, this is my country, I love it and will stay to defend it.”

He continues to explain that "'Juan' is a completely irreverent comedy, with very Cuban characters, filled with action and adventure. The film can scare you or have you at the edge of your seat, while we also see how we really are. Fill it with spectacular set pieces, but also not unfamiliar to real location (hundreds of people throwing themselves to the sea on rafts,floating cars,buses entering embassies by force are things that I’ve seen personally), and along with all that our day by day complains, doubts, reflexions…"

Brugués concludes "the most important thing is that “Juan” allowed me to do the zombie movie I`ve always wanted to see since I was a kid, and that makes it more heart-felt than anything I’ve ever made before."

About Symposium Against Indifference

The College of Arts and Sciences at Ashland University inaugurated the Symposium Against Indifference in 2001 as a biennial series of events and lectures dedicated to overcoming apathy in the face of human concerns by raising awareness and promoting compassionate engagement. The Symposium seeks to challenge the University committee -- as well as the wider Ashland community -- toward a deeper understanding of difficult affairs and toward creative personal and corporate responses. Symposium themes from previous years include the Holocaust, human nature, terrorism, the promises and perils of technology, inquiry into what make a hero, globalization and Latin America.